The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!
H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926
When we decided to do the “election platform series”, our outline for this particular post was to discuss how Joe Biden and the political left, with unbridled support from the full swath of media, has been attempting to destroy free speech in the name of ‘truth’.
The world has changed quickly as of late, and the battle for free speech is being fought on new terms of engagement. We will revisit our intended discussion at a later date.
There is a more immediate debate to be had on free speech.
The slaughter of innocents in Israel by the terrorist group Hamas has led to protests and riots around the globe.
The concerning part is that they seem to be in support of the butcher.
In the United States, the rise of anti-Semitic rhetoric is cause for deep concern.
History has shown us that it is a short leap from word to action when the language of hate is concerned. Officials seem more than willing to prosecute citizens for calling someone the wrong pronoun, but advocating for genocide is protected speech?
The truth is that free speech does not provide cover to anyone who is promoting a call to arms in support of murder. In the case of “mis-gendering”, the political left claims that “language is violence”. No, language is language, the means by which we communicate. Violence is when language becomes violent action with the intent to cause physical harm or bodily injury. Calling someone a ‘he’ who prefers to identify as a ‘she’ is an apology. Surrounding a group of people, pushing them around and chanting “death to Jews” is violence and is not free speech.
This is the delicate tightrope walk American democracy has been walking for 220+ years. The freedom of speech is not protected for just the popular, widely accepted opinions. It’s purpose is to give the minority view the same protected rights to express their thoughts with equal freedom.
As long as there is no violence, or the promotion of violence, beliefs you may find abhorrent MUST have the same right to be heard.
The axiom of “I hate what you say but will defend with my life your right to say it” must return to prominence in the debate on free speech.
Those who foment violence will get their just punishment. The rest of society must raise their voices as one to put the lie to the statement that genocide is a solution. Those who remain silent will be the next group marked for elimination.
This debate will continue, but we suggest that if you feel the need to limit somebody’s speech, take a deep breath, count to the ten amendments and reconsider your stance.
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